At the annual New Orleans Jazz Festival, which kicks off this weekend, food doesn’t play second fiddle. In fact, the Fest could be double-billed as a full-fledged food festival. Regulars — locals and visitors alike — love to hop from stage to stage at the sprawling fairground, dancing to everything from gospel choirs to Billy Joel to Trombone Shorty. But Jazz Fest fans also give serious consideration to their food agendas, making sure to hit favorite stands year after year. We like to zone in on the vendors who serve unique dishes that are hard to come by outside of this two-weekend event.

I’m a very lucky girl, having married into a food-obsessed family from New Orleans. My in-laws send us NOLA treats all year — local favorites that are hard to come by in New York, like Zatarain’s jambalaya mix, Aunt Sally’s pralines and Tony Chachere’s seasoning. As Fat Tuesday approaches, it’s King Cake time.

This quintessential Mardi Gras treat is a sweet braided pastry with frosting coated in plenty of purple, green and gold sprinkles, but the pièce de résistance is hidden inside. Whoever gets the slice with a plastic baby — caution is recommended as you devour your piece — is declared the king or queen for the day. Some say getting the baby is like catching the bouquet at a wedding, except instead of being the next to marry, it means the finder will soon have a (real) baby.

Tonight on The Originals, Emeril is down south in his adopted hometown of New Orleans. He’s got several applauded restaurants of his own in the Big Easy, but the places he highlights go back way before his time.

I hopped in a car last year with my boyfriend for a cross-country drive from Los Angeles to Atlanta. If you know me, you know the only reason I could ever last in a car that long is the promise of food.

The Emeril Lagasse Foundation supports the next generation of New Orleans chefs.

When Emeril isn’t in the kitchen, he’s busy helping his native New Orleans. From after-school and summer programs to innovative partnerships and events, The Emeril Lagasse Foundation has been striving to improve the quality of young people’s lives with grants for funding to children’s charities that assist in improving education, life skills development, hospitality and culinary training since 2002.

The Foundation’s flagship event, Carnivale du Vin, an all-out celebration of the finest wines the world has to offer, has raised $10 million for the foundation since 2005. Emeril hosts the 6th annual Carnivale du Vin at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Grand Ballroom on Saturday, November 13, and it promises to be nothing short of amazing.